"Trust in the Lord​ with all your heart,and lean not on yourown understanding;in all your ways acknowledge Him,and He shall direct​your paths."~Proverbs 3:5-6

“Caterpillars must "shed" (or molt) their skin in order to grow. Unlike us, insects have an exoskeleton, which means that they are pretty much "encased" inside their skin. The skin does not grow with the animal, so they have to molt.” ~Quora.com

Thankfully, as humans, we don’t shed our skin the same way insects do. But at times, we can be just as “encased” psychologically and spiritually. We can learn -traditionally from others- one way to think, work, interact, and worship and serve God, and never grow past that point. This is way of living is called "tradition," and is just the opposite of what we are encouraged to do in Proverbs 3:5-6. This way of living is also one of the primary targets Jesus took aim at during His ministry on earth. It's why God sent His Holy Spirit to live within us, so that we could all personally seek Him and follow the path He uniquely created for each of us individually. Tradition keeps people from God and all the good He has planned for them personally.

Acknowledging God daily, and reevaluating regularly – at least once a year (January 1st is as good a time as any) – keeps us in step with the next step God has decided for His glory and our good. Trusting Him in taking the next step even when the path is new and uncomfortable shows others how to trust God. And the path He takes us on grows us in ways that we never would have experienced being stuck in our traditional ways. Our hopes and dreams and desires and perspectives change as we continuously shed the old and look forward to moving into what's next. And the light of what it means to be a living, breathing, vibrantly growing (or glowing) example of intimacy with God will be our banner.

"Trust in the Lord​ with all your heart,and lean not on yourown understanding;in all your ways acknowledge Him,and He shall direct​your paths."~Proverbs 3:5-6

Death.

In recent days, death seems to be one of the primary focuses of every aspect of our day to day living. From the moment we wake up each morning, the world, our governments, and yes even our own sense of self-preservation seems to be telling us to filter every decision we make through the lens of the possibility of death. Some of us have never been more intimate with the concept of death. Many of us have never had to face the fact of our fear of death. A worldwide pandemic will do that.

For Believers in Christ, we can take comfort in trusting Christ. When He is directing each new season, any uncomfortable new direction, every difficult next step, we don’t have to fear. Likewise, we don’t have to fear the possibility, the prospect, or the promise of death. Now, none of this erases the fact that I suffer a great deal of anxiety when flying. No one looks forward to the tragic death of any type of crash…or the agonizing suffering from a suffocating virus. In case of an emergency, I'm going to make sure to follow all the rules to give myself the best chance of survival. You see, for Believers it's the process of death that we don’t want to face. But just like the caterpillar that, after already shedding dead skin multiple times, enters the cocoon process and essentially dies to what it was, so do we sometimes have a dying process to endure in order to be transformed…in a literal sense. Whatever the process, we can trust Him when our next leads to death.

We may endure many “deaths” in our spiritual lives (our old way of living, speaking, giving, serving; and viewing and interacting with the world and humanity) and emerge from the cocoon of transformation with a new lease on life and everything God has in store for us on this earth. But I want you to remember that nothing can compare to the unspeakable gift waiting for us in eternity…the end to all suffering…the glorification of our bodies…the culmination of our Faith…the vindication for every sacrifice…the joy in exchange for every tear shed…the rest to end all striving…the reward that can only be gained through the process called death. Let us be wise and kind and honor the laws of our world. But if God's path for our lives on earth ends here and now, let us stare death down with a smirk and a twinkle in our eye. Trust Him. We are the real winners!

​​"Trust in the Lord​ with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct ​your paths."~Proverbs 3:5-6

Something I have noticed in my own life especially, and also in the lives of others, is that sometimes one of the hardest things to do is to let go of what “used to be” or “always” was. When we decide to “acknowledge God in all of our ways,” there has to be a “letting go” mindset. Why? Because there may be a good chance He will ask us to do something new, different, or uncomfortable. We must be prepared to let go and completely abandon, if called to, what previously sustained and secured us in the last leg of our walk with Him. This is the cornerstone of living a RePurposed Life lifestyle: Always be prepared to let go of what you have or are doing now, in order to move on to what’s next.

Like the life of a caterpillar, that sheds the skin of its previous existence several times before even entering the cocoon, may we embrace change and not live too attached to the existence we have created in the moment. There is no way a caterpillar could enjoy the benefit of greater endurance, and the refreshing of its existence due to a new skin, without shedding the old skin. It cannot keep the old and reap the benefits of the new. Additionally, it would never make it to the other side of the cocoon without embracing that "letting go" process.

God never called us to be comfortable or complacent. Comfort makes us lazy, and complacency makes us indifferent. Let us live passionately, seeking God daily for whatever He may call us to. And may we shed, willingly, everything necessary to move on to where He's taking us next...no matter how far or uncomfortable it may take us from where and what we are used to now.

​​"Trust in the Lord​ with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."~Proverbs 3:5-6

heart: inclination, resolution, determination (of will)

One original Hebrew translation of the word “heart” in this year’s focus verse is defined above. Trusting God when change and transformation are required means that sometimes we have to let go of our own inclinations in order to surrender to the process He has already designed. Sometimes it means we have to use our resolution to release our own will and give way to His. Sometimes trusting God in the repurposing process means our determination has to be directed toward what He has established. This is not necessarily a passive process as the poetically penned words of this verse might feel at times.

This verse is here to remind and encourage us that there will be times we will have to abandon deep inclinations, personal resolve, and set determination in order to reap the full (and fulfilling) benefit of a life with Christ. Jesus Himself had to abandon His own inclination to Lord over all other and become the servant of all. This trust in His Heavenly Father led Him down a path riddled with grief, but He was transformed in death to a greater, more glorified position than before. Similar to that of a butterfly…

The path is not always about the glory, but it IS always for the good.

Lord may we trust you fully in spite of the sacrifice.​With Great Expectation,Dawn~

"Trust in the Lord​with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; ​in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."~Proverbs 3:5-6

The final path for a caterpillar is the life of a butterfly. But the caterpillar lives only a very small percentage if its life in that glorious final stage of life. Although beautiful, the butterfly spends its entire short lifespan fulfilling its final purpose: working to pollenate our world. It doesn’t retire from all of the past, more difficult stages of life. It doesn’t only "slow down and smell the roses.” It spreads the roses! It helps create the beauty of nature we see in Spring and Summer. This is the stage when it does its most and best work. All while enjoying the benefit of enduring the past, the beauty of the present, and the reward of wings.God is the one who designs our paths. If we follow His design, there is no guarantee that we will see life from anywhere other than the lowest and slowest vantage points of life. But God is also in the business of change and transformation. Just because our previous paths haven't taken us to the places we envisioned [yet], doesn’t mean that our latter days won’t be greater than our former. Facing our later stages of life don’t have to be an approach to the end. There is still time and opportunity for new life, new purpose, new perspectives, and new adventures.Do you think the caterpillar knew as it was crawling along in the darkness of dirt among roots, that one day it would have wings…and many vibrant colors? Maybe not, but it trusted the many processes and paths it had to endure. And one day it was a butterfly. It didn’t stop with the first or second shedding. It didn’t even stop in the cocoon. It embraced the process of a new purpose and thrived. So can we if we trust our creator and God on every path we find ourselves.May we trust God with all our plans, even the ones that make us want to question the next step.With Great Expectation,Dawn~ ​

​"Trust in the Lord​ with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."~Proverbs 3:5-6

Have you ever wondered to yourself why your path couldn’t look more like someone else’s? I’ll let you off the hook and say that’s a rhetorical question. And I’ll go even further and admit it. I have. But I’ve come to realize three things: 1. You never know the deep sorrows and troubles taking place behind the scene in a person’s life, 2. You never know if you are actually ready or willing to handle what another person is dealing with (positive or negative), and 3. When your mountaintop season arrives, you will understand all the valleys in greater perspective; be patient; endure.

When looking at a beautiful butterfly, rarely do we envision the previous stages it had to endure in order to earn its wings. We see its color, its regality, its grace. We don’t even notice the hard work it is performing in that very moment we are watching. We just see beauty. And yet, this beautiful being has lived two previous lives shedding numerous skins in order to become what is in front of us. This being has not had an easy road.

If God cares for the life of a butterfly in such detail, why do we question His ability to orchestrate our paths in much the same manner? In fact, why don’t we expect…no…look forward to it? How does a caterpillar trust the path God has created it for, endure the shedding and chrysalis processes, and emerge at the end of its days greater than its former days? The most important question is, what canI learn from the life of a butterfly?

"Trust in the Lord​ with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."~Proverbs 3:5-6

I never realized that the word “paths” in this year’s focus verse is plural. This plurality of paths hits at the heart of what The Re-Purposed Life series is all about.

Anything that is repurposed will experience more than one life…more than one path. These lives/paths can transform our existence many times and give us new purpose and new ways of seeing/experiencing life. As humans, I don’t believe that our growth in life is just limited to the stages of fetus, infant, child, adulthood, and eternity. I think there is life between adulthood and eternity. What I should say is, I believe there is much more to life after we’ve reached adulthood. Many more lives to be lived after we’ve reached what society deems as “arrived,” whatever that looks like.

The Re-Purposed Life series is not a guide or “how-to” book. It’s a challenge. This challenge comes with insight about what you can expect, both positive and negative, when setting out to repurpose your life. But, it’s also relentless in pushing you to take the challenge. What’s your Next? Join me this year as I take steps to once again repurpose my life. Let’s discover new callings and passions together. Let’s blaze new paths and be reborn by fire and grace!​With Great Expectation,Dawn~

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."~Proverbs 3:5-6

I really can’t believe that a new year and a new decade begins in just a few days. So many changes have transpired in my life over the last decade. I’ve started new careers twice. I’ve had major changes in my living situation, twice. I’ve seen God do unbelievable things for and through my family and me. I can’t pretend, the last decade has been phenomenal. It has been one for the record books!

In my last blog I spoke about spending December praying for what’s Next in 2020. But to be transparent, I’ve been praying about 2020 since August. There will be a major change at Costly Oil and more changes in both my personal and professional lives. I can only hope and pray that the next decade promises greater than what our family has experienced in the last. May I live to see it, and beyond!

One thing that I did not see in pairs this past decade was the opportunity to be published. Combined, I’ve written hundreds of blogs, studies, lessons, poems, and papers, and have published six talented authors. But the Fall of 2020 will mark ten years since my own last project was published. Well, in August when I began praying about 2020, God also placed a two-part book series on my heart to write. After a conversation with my son shortly after I began writing, I was motivated and encouraged to add a third part to the series.

Please stay tuned for volumes one and two of The Re-Purposed Life, available January 2020 in paperback and eBook format. This series contains three very short booklets that 1. outlines the spiritual and secular benefits of change and, specifically, starting over, 2. provides insight about how God uses and actually orchestrates new starts in order to revitalize and reignite purpose in our lives, 3. explores how having a repurposed lifestyle mindset helps us remain humble, active, and prepared for any challenge God sends our way.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,​let your requests be made known to God~Philippians 4:6 (NKJV)​ ​

My personal life's theme for 2018 was New Beginnings. It seems that God has dedicated my 2019 to clearing out whatever is no longer for the path He has designed and destined for me, and positioning me for my "Next."

What about you? What are you sensing on the horizon?

The next decade begins in 3o days, and with the added benefit of an extra day. Where do you see God taking you in this next season of life? Where do you want to be in the next ten years? The next five? Next year?

I have some ideas about my own walk. I've sensed some tugging in my spirit since the Summer. Since that time, God has put me on a path to a completely new direction and has opened difficult doors to make it clear to me that there is truly a new beginning, a new season, and a new direction...a Next for me and my family of organizations. In order to walk in the fullness of what I'm sensing, I plan to end 2019 the same way I've ended every year since 2016...with a prayer plan. Will you join me?

This first week of December let's read, memorize, and put into practice Philippians 4:6. Whatever you have need of or want answers about, ASK FOR IT and thank God for hearing you. Ask Him for what's Next!

Making Sense of Loss:5 Ways You Can Support a Senior Who Has Lost a Spouse

By Jason Lewis

No one is ever the same after losing a spouse. For older adults, losing their life partner can leave them feeling helpless, confused and overwhelmed. Unfortunately, there are a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up after the death of a loved one. That’s why it is important to find ways to support friends and family, and especially seniors, throughout this seemingly impossible process. Here are six elements to consider when supporting a senior through the loss of their spouse.

Get Help to Figure Out Their FinancesThinking about money seems pointless when dealing with loss. Unfortunately, there are many costs to consider when someone has died. During these difficult times, it can be helpful to consult a financial planner to sort through life insurance policies and matters dealing with estates. Seniors often need assistance to figure out how to go about paying for burial expenses and final medical bills, while ensuring they will have enough to cover their own budget. Consulting a professional makes sense to avoid further financial complications.

Assist With Memorial Service PlansThere are quite a few decisions to be made when deciding how best to memorialize a loved one. A senior who has lost their spouse may be in no shape to make these final choices on their own, but you can help by providing assistance. Ask around about funeral homes and services in their area, and then sit down and talk about their spouse’s final wishes before meeting with funeral planners. Keep their budget in mind when handling this business, since funeral expenses can easily get out of control. For some, cremation may be a better option, so help them keep an open mind while planning services.

Be Prepared to Discuss Other Important DecisionsMemorial plans are usually not the only tough decisions that need to be made after the death of a senior spouse. While in these initial stages of mourning, it’s important to think through any choices that could impact the rest of your loved one’s life. Many times, older adults may want to stay in their current home for sentimental reasons, but moving could be the better choice in terms of finances. Moving to a smaller home can also make day-to-day life more manageable, especially for seniors with accessibility needs. Sit down with your loved one and talk about these important choices, but try to encourage them to wait to make any life-changing decisions.

Get Help With Home and Personal ResponsibilitiesWhen a senior loses their spouse, they are also losing half of the support around their house. Getting chores done alone can prove impossible for a grieving widow, but luckily, there are ways you can help. If you have time, take care of some of the cleaning and housework for them. Think about enlisting the help of other friends and family members. If you can’t find free help or room in your own schedule, consider helping the widower hire assistance. Paying someone to cook, clean or take care of yard work can take a lot of stress off of a senior in distress.

Stay Strong During The FuneralHelping out with the household, planning and social support is a wonderful way to care for a grieving loved one, but they will need extra support on the day of the funeral. It’s important for them to be able to focus on saying goodbye, so try to take care of little tasks for them throughout the day. If they have pets, arrange for someone to feed them and take them on walks. Pick up or prepare some trays of comforting food, and have plenty of water available for them to drink throughout the day. While your loved one may not feel like eating or drinking, proper nutrition and hydration will help them stay strong enough for the difficult days ahead.

Saying goodbye to a spouse is never easy. Your love and support, however, can ease some of the additional stress a grieving senior is experiencing. With small steps, you can help guide them through their grief process and put their life back in order.

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Jason Lewis is passionate about helping seniors stay healthy and injury-free. He created StrongWell.org to share his tips on senior fitness. In 2002 he became the primary caretaker for his mother after her surgery. From then on, he made it his advocacy to help fellow caregivers in ensuring wellness for seniors.​Photo Credit: Pexels